Here's my Smackdown: Tribute to The Troops Thoughts & Facts & Stats:
Here's the Entire History of Tribute to The Troops History updated with this year's results.Great God Bless America from The War & Treaty.
Of course it wouldn't be a Tribute To The Troops without JBL on Commentary. Happy Birthday Michael Cole.
Dragon Lee VS Santos Escobar was an excellent match. Escobar VS Lashley or Kross will be good. I liked that it stayed clean without interference from Dominik Mysterio. Dragon Lee VS Dominik Mysterio will be great tomorrow at Deadline. FACTS: This was both Dragon Lee & Santos Escobar's 1st Tribute to The Troops, making it the 1st match since Umaga VS Jeff Hardy in 2006 where both participants made their Tribute to The Troops debut in a 1-on-1 Singles Match. This was the 2nd 1-on-1 Match between them after Survivor Series on 11/25, which was won by Escobar, making it the 1st match to be re-matched from Survivor Series.
Interesting segment with Nick Aldis & Randy Orton. I will post facts later about LA Knight teaming with John Cena & Randy Orton in the same year.
Good recap of the previous Tribute to The Troops.
Normally, I would be mad that a Raw wrestler is on Smackdown, but this is Tribute to The Troops, so brands do not matter.
I like that Cody Rhodes was used to introduce the video with John Cena & then the US Army Drill Team instead of cutting a regular promo. I never heard of the guy that's on commentary right now.
Guess Bobby Lashley's a Face for tonight since he's a Veteran.
I like the promo by Montez Ford to highlight him as a Veteran. That's what Tribute to The Troops is all about.
Karrion Kross VS Bobby Lashley was a great match. Kross looked great in his return. Escobar VS Lashley will be great in the next round. The guest commentator wasn't a distraction though he's not a wrestling personality. FACTS: This was Karrion Kross' 1st Tribute to The Troops & 1st match overall since he lost to AJ Styles on Smackdown on 8/11. This was Bobby Lashley's 3rd Tribute To The Troops, 1st since 2018, & 1st 1-on-1 Match at Tribute to The Troops since he defeated Hardcore Holly in 2006.
Interesting segment with Bayley & Damage CTRL as they continue to plant the seeds to Damage CTRL turning on Bayley.
Cool highlights of past Tribute To The Troops. RIP Shad Gaspard.
This is Punk's 1st Smackdown since he & The New Age Outlaws lost to The Shield on 1/10/14 & his 1st Tribute To The Troops since he Daniel Bryan & John Cena defeated The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, & Bray Wyatt) in a 6-Man Tag Team Match on 12/28/13.
Unbelievable promo by CM Punk. This was much better than his promo on Raw, which got cut for time. I love the mention of all of his potential feuds especially what he said about Roman Reigns. I hope HBK signs him for NXT. That would be different.
What the hell is wrong with Triple H? He booked Nia Jax in a 2 segment match on Raw but Charlotte Flair & Asuka get a 2 minute match. Idiot. (EDIT: After posting this, I found out that Charlotte got hurt, so they had to cut the match. I apologize for my comments above.) I did like Zelina Vega & Mia Yim coming out to prevent Damage CTRL from interfering before the match began. If this was a Vince-booked show, then Flair VS Asuka would have re-started as a 6-Woman Tag. FACTS: This was the 3rd 1-on-1 Women's Match at Tribute to The Troops after Bayley VS Dana Brooke (2016) & Bianca Belair VS Liv Morgan (2021). This was Charlotte Flair's 4th Tribute To The Troops Match, which is tied with Brie Bella & Alicia Fox for 2nd Most Tribute To The Troops Matches for Women after Natalya (5), 1st since 2018, & 1st 1-on-1 Match at Tribute to The Troops in her Career. It was her 1st 1-on-1 Match on Smackdown since she lost to IYO SKY on 10/20. This was Asuka's 1st Tribute to The Troops & her 1st 1-on-1 Match on Smackdown since she lost to IYO SKY on 9/22. This was the 14th 1-on-1 Match between them after WrestleMania 34 on 4/8/18 (won by Flair), Smackdown on 12/11/18 (won by Asuka by DQ), Smackdown on 3/26/19 (won by Flair), Raw on 11/25/19 (won by Flair), Raw on 1/27/20 (won by Flair), Raw on 6/1/20 (won by Flair), Raw on 6/8/20 (won by Flair), Raw on 6/22/20 (won by Asuka), Raw on 4/19/21 (won by Asuka), Raw on 5/17/21 (won by Asuka), Raw on 5/24/21 (won by Flair), & Smackdown on 6/30/23 (won by Asuka), & Smackdown on 8/11/23 (ended in a No Contest), so now Asuka won 7, Flair won 6, & 1 match ended in a No Contest.
I Love CM Punk & Nick Aldis and then Punk & Cody Rhodes with the handshake. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Thank you Capt. Florent Groberg for your service & your sacrifice.
Another great moments & highlights from Tribute To The Troops. RIP Eddie Guerrero.
What a moment. CM Punk, Randy Orton, & LA Knight.
Next week's Smackdown looks good with the return of Roman Reigns. Raw looks good too.
LA Knight & Randy Orton VS Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso was a great match. I like the tension between Orton & Knight. There goes Jimmy's 3-0 undefeated streak at Tribute To The Troops. FACTS: This was LA Knight's 2nd Tribute to The Troops in a row, making him the only wrestler this year to wrestle on last year's Tribute to The Troops & 1st Tag Team Match at Tribute to The Troops. LA Knight was the 1st since Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (2017, 2018) to go from the Tribute to The Troops opener to the following year's main event. He was the 1st wrestler since Luke Harper to team with John Cena & Randy Orton in the same year. (Harper & Cena lost Orton & Bray Wyatt (1/31/17 SD) & Harper & Orton def Wyatt & Erik Rowan (4/4/17 SD)). This was Randy Orton's 9th Tribute to The Troops Match, which is the 2nd most in History after John Cena (10), & 1st since 2017 & was his 4th Tag Team Match in a row at Tribute to The Troops. This was Randy Orton's 5th Tribute to The Troops main event & 1st since 2017, which is the 2nd most Tribute to The Troops main event below John Cena (7). This was his 1st Smackdown since he & Matt Riddle lost to The Usos on 5/20/22. This was Solo Sikoa's 1st Tribute to The Troops, making him, The Usos, & Rikishi the only father & 3 sons to all wrestle on Tribute to The Troops & them & Umaga the only uncles & 3 nephews to wrestle on Tribute to The Troops. This was Solo Sikoa's 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match on Smackdown since he & Sami Zayn lost to Butch & Ridge Holland on 10/28/22. This was Jimmy Uso's 4th Tribute to The Troops & 1st since 2017, 1st time he's teaming with someone other than Jey at Tribute To The Troops, & 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match at Tribute to The Troops since he & Jey defeated Goldust & Stardust in 2014. This was the 1st time that Jimmy teamed with someone other than Jey on Smackdown since he & Big E lost to Harper & Rowan on 3/13/18. This was Jimmy Uso's 2nd Tribute to The Troops main event & 1st since 2015. This was the 2nd year in a row a Tag Team Match main evented Tribute to The Troops.
Here are my Smackdown Match Rankings:
1) Dragon Lee VS Santos Escobar
2) LA Knight & Randy Orton VS The Bloodline
3) Karrion Kross VS Bobby Lashley
4) Charlotte Flair VS Asuka
Here are my NXT Level Up Thoughts, Facts, & Stats
Brooks Jensen VS Dion Lennox was solid. Good debut for Lennox. I was very impressed with him. He's got a good look. FACTS: This was Brooks Jensen's 1st Level Up since he & Josh Briggs defeated Kale Dixon & Luca Crusifino on 7/14 & 1st 1-on-1 Match on Level Up since he defeated Trick Williams on 10/28/22, making this his 6th Singles Match in his WWE/NXT Career & 3rd win (He also defeated Bodhi Hayward in his debut on 205 Live on 2/4/22.) This was Dion Lennox's Level Up & NXT debut.
Good promo by Jaida Parker. She has a lot of charisma.
Gigi Dolin VS Jaida Parker was OK. Parker should have a great career. FACTS: This was Gigi Dolin's 1st Level Up since she defeated Stevie Turner on 11/10 & she was the 7th wrestler to wrestle on Main Event & Level Up in the same week & the 1st since Tavion Heights on 11/16 & 11/17. This was Jaida Parker's Level Up debut & 1st match since she lost to Karmen Petrovic on NXT on 10/17.
Malik Blade & Edris Enofe VS Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak was excellent. I love Dempsey & Gulak's finisher. Their stable needs a name in 2024. FACTS: This was Malik Blade & Edris Enofe's 1st Level Up since they defeated Boa & Dante Chen on 10/20. This was Charlie Dempsey's 1st Level Up since he lost to Axiom on 9/22, Drew Gulak's 2nd week in a row on Level Up, their 1st time teaming up since they defeated Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen on NXT on 8/8, & 1st time on Level Up. This was Blade & Enofe's 1st loss on Level Up since they lost to Legado Del Fantasma on 3/4/22.
Here are my Level Up Match Rankings:
1) Malik Blade & Edris Enofe VS Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak
2) Brooks Jensen VS Dion Lennox
3) Gigi Dolin VS Jaida Parker
A really fun Smackdown. Even with the Tribute To The Troops theme, it was a solid show with great matches & excellent promos. Normally Tribute shows are throwaway, but not tonight. Level Up was great.
Good night. See you tomorrow for live thoughts, Facts, & Stats for Deadline.